Barbara Jo Allen[1] (born Marian Barbara Henshall; September 2, 1906 – September 14, 1974) was an American actress. She was also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 1950s. She based the character on a woman she had seen delivering a PTA literature lecture in a confused manner. As Vague, she popularized the catchphrase "You dear boy!"[2]
Early years
Allen was born on September 2, 1906, in Manhattan, New York, to Charles Thomas Henshall and Grace Esther Selby. Following her mother's death when Allen was 9, she went to live with an aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. She was educated at Los Angeles High School, UCLA, Stanford University, and the Sorbonne.[3] Her acting ability first surfaced in school plays. Concentrating on language at the Sorbonne, she became proficient in French, Spanish, German, and Italian.
Film, radio, and television
In 1933, Allen joined the cast of NBC's One Man's Family.[4] After Vera was introduced in 1939 on NBC Matinee, she became a regular with Bob Hope beginning in 1941. In the early 1940s, she was a regular on Signal Carnival, a weekly program on NBC-Pacific Red stations.[citation needed]
Allen was the Honorary Mayor of Woodland Hills, California. In 1953, as Vera, she hosted her own television series, Follow the Leader, a CBS audience participation show.[citation needed]
As Vera Vague, Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures at 1720 Vine Street and one for radio at 1639 Vine Street. Both were dedicated on February 8, 1960.[5]
Personal life
Allen's first marriage was to actor Barton Yarborough. They had one child together, Joan. In 1946, the couple co-starred in the two-reel comedy short, Hiss and Yell, nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Subject. Allen married lumberman Charles Hopper Crosby on October 19, 1931, in Reno, Nevada.[6]
Death
Allen died September 14, 1974, aged 68, in Santa Barbara, California.[7] She was cremated at Santa Barbara Cemetery on September 17 and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific.[8]
^DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN978-0-7864-2834-2. P. 259.
^Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons (entry 179) by Scott wilson
